[An image of hurricanes. Photo credit: Pixabay]

As forecast on October 28th, a hurricane is predicted to strike Jamaica later that week. 

This hurricane, named Hurricane Melissa,  is known to have very strong winds, reaching speeds of approximately 185 miles per hour. 

Hurricane Melissa is considered to be one of the most powerful storms in Atlantic history, and as it approaches Jamaica, it is predicted to have a strong, devastating impact on the country. 

Jamaica, an island located in the Caribbean Sea approximately 600 miles away from Florida, is bracing for the impact.

The last time Jamaica experienced a hurricane landfall was back in 2012, when Hurricane Sandy hit near the island, but it was not as intense compared to Hurricane Melissa.

Given the Storm’s intensity, experts predict Melissa will cause extensive and severe damage to the island, with consequences ranging from short-term disruptions to long-term transformations.

The long term effect that is predicted to happen is that this hurricane may reshape the island for the upcoming years, and it could also trigger a humane disaster. 

Reshaping the island means that there will be effects to the physical characteristics of the island, such as some parts of it sinking, or oceans getting eroded. 

The short term effects include things such as strong rain and powerful winds.

The rainfall is expected to be so intense that it will be measured in feet, not inches, which is the typical measurement for falling rain. 

Already, before the storm, Hurricane Melissa already led to seven  deaths.

Specifically, three had passed away in Haiti, one in the Dominican Republic, and three while preparing for the storm’s impact in Jamaica. 

Moreover, there are already reports of  power outages, falling and fallen trees, and landslides prior to the storm actually hitting the island. 

The hurricane is classified under the category five classification, which is considered to be the fastest, strongest, and deadliest storms.

There has not yet been a category five hurricane that has hit Jamaica. 

The category of the storm is classified by using the different speeds that the storms or hurricanes possess. 

Category five, which  Hurricane Melissa falls under, ranges from 157 miles per hour to anything  faster than that.

As the speed and scale increases, it represents a stronger destruction that will be caused to the affected lands, and hurricanes under category 3 and category 4 are often considered to also be major hurricanes.

Due to this, fears of hurricane Melissa hitting the island is strong, because category five is stronger than any of the previous strong hurricanes that they have faced. 

The island is preparing for this potential disaster by evacuating residents to shelters, and implementing appropriate measures to try to decrease the destruction that is caused as much as they can. 

The National Weather Service, World Food Program, and the United Nations are all taking action in their parts to reduce the devastation caused by this hurricane.